the federal government has taken in taxes that equals 18% of the overall economy. it's 17.8% to be exact. that's become something of a magic number in politics. you tell orrin hatch loves the 18%. if we keep all the bush tax cuts, we stick at that magic number. that means "taxes would still be high enough compared to recent history." across the political spectrum, consider warren buffett and higher taxes for the rich. he wrote "our government's goal should be to bring in 18.5% revenue. he doesn't say. those are levels attained over extended periods in the past. permit me a decent from the or kl of omaha. the average of our past revenue is not sufficient to sustain our future. in fact, it wasn't even enough to support our past. only three times in the past 50 years has the 18% been enough to balance the budget. the only recent balancing came during the clinton era when growth was strong. from 19.5% of the overall economy to 20.6%. by bump. ing along with 18%, we have built the national debt that dominates the political discussion and it's going to get worse if we st